7 April 1882 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: MH-H, UCCL 02197)
1. I have always issued, after a prodigiously long canvass, as follows: Roughing It, 43,000; Gilded Age, 43,000; Tramp Abroad, 48,000.
2. In the first quarter after issuing, we sold, of each, 10,000 to 20,000, say.
3. In the second quarter after issuing, sales dropped down to where the “old” books were.
Doesn’t this simply mean that the sale marked “2” consists mainly of a tumbling of the books into the trade, by General Agents & canvassers?—& that the effect of it is observable in “3?”
Yes, sir, I think a subscription book has just two lives: One drawn from the public before issuing; & one from the trade, after.
I seem to know, now
I have written the Introduction to the Portuguese Phrase Book.
written horizontally below the signature:Did you send some brass stamp patterns whose cost you already know, to Webster to duplicate for experiment. Said you would.
P. S.—$1500 or $1600 is steep for an author who is already deep in 2 expensive law suits. Tell you what I will do. You sacrifice yourself for your guild, & I will for mine: You pay ⅓ of this trade-mark exploit & I will pay the other ⅔. How’sⒶemendation that?
MS, Rogers Memorial Room, MH-H (bMS Thr 470, 18).
MTLP, 153–54.
The Henry M. Rogers and Kathleen Rogers Collection was donated to the Houghton Library in 1930.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.